1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compact containers, specifically a compact mirror floss container.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of dental floss is highly recommended by the dental profession as a necessary adjunct to oral hygiene. Indeed, the dental profession recommends the teeth should be flossed using an appropriate dental floss, at least once daily; for example and particularly, as part of the evening ablutions prior to retiring for the night. Typically, dental floss is sold in a container that serves as the dispenser of the floss. Typically, when it is not actually being used to dispense dental floss, the container/dispenser is hidden from view such as in a drawer, a medicine cabinet, or the like. This generally results in less than diligent flossing practice.
Indeed, recent studies reveal that only about 20 percent of the population of North America flosses regularly, although it is assumed that between 70 percent and up to 90 percent of all households have at least one dental floss container in their possession. Moreover, it had been noted that there seems to be less of a tendency to want to use a dental floss dispenser which requires it to be held in one hand while dental floss is removed from the dispenser with the other hand, especially in those circumstances where the cutter for the dental floss is exposed and represents a risk to the fingers of the user. Still further it has been noted that most commercially available dental floss dispensers are awkward to use in that the spacing between the opening of the dispenser where the dental floss exits from the interior thereof to the cutter is generally quite small, so that grasping the dental floss in that region so as to remove the length of dental floss from the container is difficult. In addition, the user does not have the capability of viewing the region being flossed, when not around a restroom or mirror.
Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below, and the supported teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,603, issued to Uribe, discloses a dental care kit assembly having a plurality of operative components such as one or more dental floss assemblies and a cleaning implement located within separated areas or compartments of a container. The container has a substantially flat, predetermined, reduced size configuration, closely corresponding to the size of a conventional credit card thereby enabling it to be conveniently carried on the person of a user. The reduced size container and the various components contained therein may be structured to be disposable after a single or a limited number of uses or alternatively may be of a more permanent structure capable of being used over a more extended period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,561, issued to Fitzgerald, discloses a dental cleaning kit that includes a housing arranged with a cavity directed therethrough, with a trough positioned in communication with the cavity at a lower distal end of the front wall and floor of the housing to accommodate a plurality of replaceable toothbrush heads thereon. A side wall of the housing includes a handle structure to receive in a selective manner cleaning components to include a toothpick head and a dental floss holder head. A modification of the invention includes a mirror handle and mirror mounted to the side wall within a loop structure, as well as a further mirror member mounted to a deformable goose neck conduit secured to the first side wall to permit ease of visual observation by an individual during use of the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,809, issued to Brattesani et al., discloses a floss dispenser comprising a body configured for holding and dispensing floss and a gripping arm extending from the body configured to facilitate gripping by the user while floss is dispensed and cut from the dispenser. The body houses a spool of floss and includes a hole for dispensing the floss and a hole for connecting the floss dispenser to a key ring or chain. A floss cutter is included in the body or the gripping arm. In one embodiment the gripping arm comprises an operational key. The gripping arm is either integrally or removably connected with the body. In one embodiment, the body comprises a clam shell case configured to hold the head of a key. In another embodiment, the body comprises a sheath type pocket configured to hold the head of a key. The floss dispensers may also comprise other features, including lights and a toothpick.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,423, issued to Russack, discloses a dental floss dispenser that has a wallet sized case with a pair of faces and an aperture dispensing edge. A spool rotatably mounted in the case has a floss winding volume with a radial dimension many times greater than its axial dimension. Floss is spirally wound about the spool. A cutter is mounted on the outside of said case for catching and cutting the floss at the same location.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,996, issued to Dickie, discloses a dispenser for dental floss comprising a closed container having a reel of dental floss disposed therein, and having a generally planar back face, a front face, a pair of opposed side faces, a top face, a bottom face opposed to the top face, and a corner at each intersection of the top and bottom faces with the pair of opposed side faces. A hub is centrally located in the interior of the closed container and extends between the interior surfaces of the front and back faces. The reel of dental floss is mounted for rotation about the hub. There is an opening in the front face at a first corner, through which a strand of dental floss extends so as to be unwound from the reel; and a friction and cutting member is at a second corner of the front face. The friction and cutting member comprises a tongue portion which is angled away from a base portion, and is secured in place at the second corner of the front face. The front face is concave on an axis extending between a pair of diagonally opposed corners of the container, the concavity being defined by ridges formed in the front face at the first corner, and at a diagonally opposed corner. A C-shaped chute is formed at the second corner, and is positioned such that the dental floss extends from the opening at the first corner through the C-shaped chute located at the second corner.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,997, issued to Dickie, discloses a dispenser for dental floss comprising a closed container having a reel of dental floss disposed therein, and having a generally planar back and front face, a pair of opposed side faces, a bottom face, and a top face opposed to the bottom face. There is a hub centrally located in the interior of the closed container, the reel of dental floss is mounted for rotation about the hub when the dental floss is unwound and removed from the reel. A slot is formed in the top face near a first corner of the container, through which slot a strand of dental floss extends so as to be unwound from the reel. A channel is formed at a second corner of the container, at the intersection of the top face and a second side face, and the channel extends between the top face and the second side face. A friction and cutting member comprises a tongue portion which is angled away from a base portion thereof, and is secured in place within the channel. The top face is concave on a centrally located axis extending between the back face and the front face, the concavity being defined by ridges located at the first and second corners. Thus the slot is located in the first ridge at the first corner, and the channel extends through the second ridge at the second corner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,786, issued to Won, discloses a dental floss holder with a slot-headed locking axle on which a spool of floss is mounted. A length of floss is extracted from the spool disposed within the holder and is spanned across two spaced prongs formed on the holder and locked to the axle by being wound about one side of the slotted head before spanning and the other side of the slotted head after spanning. Tension is applied to the spanned floss by rotating the locking axle which is held in position by a ratcheting spring clip to provide a taut span of floss which can be manipulated between the user's teeth.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D491,313, issued to Schrott, discloses an ornamental design for a dental floss holder in credit card form.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include being limited in application, being limited in versatility, being cumbersome, being difficult to use, being expensive, and being limited in adaptability.
What is needed is a compact mirror floss container that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.